Britain
EVERYONE'S GETTING WORRIED ABOUT THE OLYMPICS
The security seems a bit of a shambles and menial workers are living in shitty conditions
(via/via)
The Olympics is coming soon and everyone's starting to panic. The weekend's Olympics news has been dominated by a story about the security arrangements. The firm in charge of sorting it out is called G4S and they didn't hire enough security staff so they're having to get 3,500 soldiers in to make the numbers up. People are calling it a "shambles", a "disaster" and a "debacle" and other things of that nature. The Home Office are also getting it in the neck for hiring G4S and then not monitoring them closely enough. Lord Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, reckons it'll be "a safe and secure Games" regardless. "This comes together in stages and when the rubber really hits the road, that's when plans collide with reality and that's the reality of security," said Coe. "I can't put it more simply than this, G4S expected people to materialise and when they didn't, as the home secretary has said, we moved very quickly to fill that gap." In other news, The Mail are reporting that the people employed to keep the Olympic Park clean are being housed in what seems to amount to a concentration camp "hidden from public view" in East London. Living conditions don't sound great. Apparently each toilet is being shared by 25 people and each shower by 75. They all sleep in cabins and some of them are leaking. World
IT'S OFFICIAL: SYRIA IS NOW AT CIVIL WAR
The Red Cross says so
Photo via(via)
The Red Cross has decided that the situation in Syria is now sufficiently fucked up to qualify for official "civil war" status. Apparently the fact it's been recognised as such could change the rules of engagement in the country, though to be honest it doesn't seem like anyone's abiding by any rules over there at the moment. One plus side is that it could make it easier to charge people for war crimes once the mess has been sorted out and President Bashar al-Assad has stopped blowing up his own people. World
A GUY IN ISRAEL SET HIMSELF ON FIRE
His name was Moshe Silman and he was protesting against the futureIt remains to be seen if this galvanises the J14 street protest movement into more extreme action, or if it will depress and scare everyone so much that their anger will peter out.J14 was marching to mark its one-year anniversary this weekend. It started last year when a woman named Daphni Leef pitched a tent on super-affluent Rothschild Street to protest against living costs and a friend's suicide.RIPSYLVESTER STALLONE'S SON WAS FOUND DEADIt appears that Sage Stallone overdosed on pills
(via)Sage Stallone, son of Sylvester Stallone, was found dead this weekend by his housekeeper at the age of 36.The current cause of death is being cited as an overdose on pills, though the coroner's toxicology report won't be back for a couple of months.According to TMZ, the producer is thought to have been dead for at least three days and possibly even a week before his body was discovered at his house in Studio City, LA.People are a bit confused by his death, as it doesn't appear to have been intentional and Sage was due to marry his girlfriend very soon."He was very creative, energetic and very full of life," his attorney and longtime friend George Braunstein told E!. "We were just joking about how he was going to get married and have a fun marriage."There was nothing dark or depressing, no problems, certainly no financial problems."MusicTHE FRENCH NATIONAL FRONT IS SUING MADONNABecause she showed a video with a swastika imprinted over their leader's face at a concert
The French far-right party Front National is gonna sue Madonna. The singer was playing a show in Paris on Saturday night when the face of Front National's leader Marine Le Pen appeared on giant video screens with a swastika on her forehead (skip to 1.15 on the video above). Other famous figures to be on the receiving end of the crotch-thrusting pop star's biting satire included Pope Benedict and Sarah Palin. Le Pen had warned Madonna that she would sue after hearing about the video showing at a gig in Tel Aviv. "If she tries that in France, we'll see what happens," the Nazi said at the time. "It's understandable when ageing singers who need publicity go to such extremes." TV
KEITH ALLEN'S GONNA BE ON TV TAKING MDMA
Drugs charities don't seem too happy about it(via)
Actor Keith Allen, father of Lily Allen, will apparently be on TV soon taking MDMA. The show will air as part of a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary series. He's 59.
EVERYONE'S GETTING WORRIED ABOUT THE OLYMPICS
The security seems a bit of a shambles and menial workers are living in shitty conditions
The Olympics is coming soon and everyone's starting to panic. The weekend's Olympics news has been dominated by a story about the security arrangements. The firm in charge of sorting it out is called G4S and they didn't hire enough security staff so they're having to get 3,500 soldiers in to make the numbers up. People are calling it a "shambles", a "disaster" and a "debacle" and other things of that nature. The Home Office are also getting it in the neck for hiring G4S and then not monitoring them closely enough. Lord Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, reckons it'll be "a safe and secure Games" regardless. "This comes together in stages and when the rubber really hits the road, that's when plans collide with reality and that's the reality of security," said Coe. "I can't put it more simply than this, G4S expected people to materialise and when they didn't, as the home secretary has said, we moved very quickly to fill that gap." In other news, The Mail are reporting that the people employed to keep the Olympic Park clean are being housed in what seems to amount to a concentration camp "hidden from public view" in East London. Living conditions don't sound great. Apparently each toilet is being shared by 25 people and each shower by 75. They all sleep in cabins and some of them are leaking. World
IT'S OFFICIAL: SYRIA IS NOW AT CIVIL WAR
The Red Cross says so
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The Red Cross has decided that the situation in Syria is now sufficiently fucked up to qualify for official "civil war" status. Apparently the fact it's been recognised as such could change the rules of engagement in the country, though to be honest it doesn't seem like anyone's abiding by any rules over there at the moment. One plus side is that it could make it easier to charge people for war crimes once the mess has been sorted out and President Bashar al-Assad has stopped blowing up his own people. World
A GUY IN ISRAEL SET HIMSELF ON FIRE
His name was Moshe Silman and he was protesting against the future
(Click here for VICE's own full video, photo and text report on this story)Thousands of Israelis were protesting against the high cost of living and lack of opportunities in the country on Saturday when a guy set himself on fire.The middle-aged man, named Moshe Silman, distributed letters to other protesters before pouring flammable liquid over himself and igniting it.After a few seconds of shock, the protesters – who'd been in a party kind of mood up till that point – raced to douse the flames and put him out.Medics were fairly quick to the scene and Silman was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical position, though it doesn't seem at this stage as though his protest will cost him his life.The letter he handed out was as tragic as you'd imagine it to be. Silman used to serve in the Israeli army, has recently suffered a stroke and his business is failing, yet he's not getting any kind of support from the government.
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(via)
The French far-right party Front National is gonna sue Madonna. The singer was playing a show in Paris on Saturday night when the face of Front National's leader Marine Le Pen appeared on giant video screens with a swastika on her forehead (skip to 1.15 on the video above). Other famous figures to be on the receiving end of the crotch-thrusting pop star's biting satire included Pope Benedict and Sarah Palin. Le Pen had warned Madonna that she would sue after hearing about the video showing at a gig in Tel Aviv. "If she tries that in France, we'll see what happens," the Nazi said at the time. "It's understandable when ageing singers who need publicity go to such extremes." TV
KEITH ALLEN'S GONNA BE ON TV TAKING MDMA
Drugs charities don't seem too happy about it(via)
Actor Keith Allen, father of Lily Allen, will apparently be on TV soon taking MDMA. The show will air as part of a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary series. He's 59.